I don't think Auden liked my poetry very much, he's very Anglican.

Nothing is more wistful than the scent of lilac, nor more robust than its woody stalk, for we must remember that it is a tree as well as a flower, we must try not to forget this.

I'm alive today, therefore I'm just as much a part of our time as everybody else. The times will just have to enlarge themselves to make room for me, won't they, and for everybody else.

Who is this that comes in grandeur, coming from the blazing East? This is he we had not thought of, this is he the airy Christ.

Unpopular, lonely and loving, Elinor need not trouble, For if she were not so loving, She would not be so miserable.

All poetry has to do is to make a strong communication. All the poet has to do is listen. The poet is not an important fellow. There will also be another poet.

Life may be treacherous, but you can always depend on death.

The human creature is alone in his carapace. Poetry is a strong way out.

The sea was angry that day my friend, like an old man trying to send back soup at a deli.

I'll have your heart, if not by gift my knife Shall carve it out. I'll have your heart, your life.

Why does my muse only speak when she is uhnhappy? She does not, I only listen when I am unhappy.

When you have something so important, something that you'll stay awake for, something you know that you were designed to do, well, it's worth getting a few dark circles, don't you think?

There was something comforting about believing in things that didn’t exist.

A goal that is not written is not a goal. It only becomes real when you write it down.

Light fell, and so did my confidence.

Suddenly the images in the center of the room became more than images. They solidified.

I'm not trying to run away from my fans at all. I want them to grow with me.

Our fantastic civilization has fallen out of touch with many aspects of nature, and with none more completely than with night.

A good government implies two things: first, fidelity to the object of government, which is the happiness of the people; secondly, a knowledge of the means by which that object can be best attained.

We're all just walking each other home.

The purpose of a writer is to be read, and the criticism which would destroy the power of pleasing must be blown aside